Two safety slogans you should know off by heart in Australia

lauraf
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20 February 2017

Hey Rasheadz,
My two favourite safety slogans when it comes to swimming with my babies are from Kids Alive and the Cancer Council.
When thinking about being safe around water, you need to consider sun safety and water safety. I try to follow these two simple slogans as a guide. Kids Alive do the five & Slip Slop Slap Slide Seek.
The kids alive do the five slogan help to bring awareness to keeping kids safe near the water.

KIDS ALIVE – DO THE FIVE!

Fence the pool. Making sure you have a secure fence around water sources near you is paramount. Babies and toddlers are super adventurous and curios. You need to make sure the pool is fenced securely so they don’t end up going for a swim when they are not supposed to.

Shut the gate. Sometimes older kids or adults jam the pool fence open to make it easier to walk in and around the pool, but this can be super dangerous for little ones. Make sure you keep the fence gate shut, securely. Gates tend to get less secure overtime so make sure you keep a check on its lock ability over time.

Teach your kids to swim. The sooner you get into lessons the better. Most baby swimming lessons focus mostly on survival techniques, hanging onto the edge, floating and not swallowing the water. If you can’t afford swimming lessons, make sure you go into the pool with your little one and at least familiarise them with water, and how to hold onto the edge. There are some great tips on you tube on what to teach your baby. Some health funds give rebates for swimming lessons, so check if you can claim a rebate to make it more affordable.

Supervise. Children should never be left alone near water or in water, even in the bath. You must be always watching. If you are at a pool party make sure there is always one parent watching. Some parties have a supervisor hat, that you wear when your job is the watching. Drowning can happen so quickly, even with confident swimmers. You must always supervise.

Learning CPR is vital. If you haven’t got time, make sure you brush up on your skills through an online course or at least a you tube video. Make sure there is a CPR poster put somewhere near all water sources so you can refer to it in an emergency. Hopefully if you follow all the other rules, you won’t ever have to come to this stage.

Cancer Council Slogan

Being the owner of a sun safe swimwear brand my other favourite safety slogan is the brilliant one created by the cancer council! Slip Slop Slap Slide Seek, is so important for babies and toddlers! If you are in your 30’s you might notice they have added slide and seek. This is because especially for babies and toddlers, seeking shade is the best defence to not getting sunburn or sun damaged skin. Obviously this isn’t possible all the time when you are in the ocean for example, but it is important you try to mostly stay in the shade. They also added “slide” which means slide on some sunglasses which is also just as important for babies and toddlers. Check out the cancer council website for more tips. But make sure you SLIP on a sun safe shirt, SLAP on a hat, and SLOP on some sunscreen if your child is the right age.
Obviously, I am not expert when it comes to these issues, I am just a passionate sun safety Mum. So you need to do your own research before doing anything yourself. I suggest checking out the kids alive do the five websites or the cancer council website.
Here is hoping to a fantastic year of safe outdoor swimming for you and your family xoxo Laura.